Re-RWBY
by fxck-canon
Summary: Basically a post volume three rewrite. Which, I promise, is more interesting than it sounds.
1. It Gets Worse--Probably

Hunting grimm used to be easier, Ruby thought. It used to be that they were simply mindless, hateful beast with a penchant for catastrophe. Now, three months after the Battle of Beacon—as everyone had started referring to it as—the picture was a lot bigger and a lot more complicated. Like they had finished most of a puzzle, only for someone to come in the middle of the night and steal some of the pieces.

Hunting grimm used to be easier.

But that was a while ago, when Ruby was still a child and two of the best people she had ever met were still a part of this world, with her. When Jaune didn't cry himself to sleep every night, or when Nora's smile seemed natural and not tired, when Ren didn't turn to the empty space next to him, a question on his lips for a person no longer there. When Pyrrha was here. When Penny was here. It was a while ago.

A ring sounded from Ruby's scroll, and Jaune, Ren, and Nora's faces flickered into view. "Ruby, are you alright? We saw smoke," Jaune's voice came through rougher, as if his soul itself was scarred from the events that took place three months ago. That probably wasn't too far from the truth. "Yeah, I'm alright Jaune."

"Save some for us!" Nora's voice shouted, and Ruby smiled softly. She always did try to cheer everyone up. She was kind of like Yang in that way- "Better hurry."

Ren stayed quiet, as stoic as ever. She appreciated that though, truly. Ren was definitely affected by the Battle of Beacon, it was the first time any of us had seen he and Nora cry, but despite this his demeanor changed the least. There were times when he'd turn to an empty spot with a question on the tip of his tongue, expecting his red headed teammate to help him affirm a situation only to be met with air. Or sometimes he'd make a pancake too many. It was little things that had changed about Ren, but he was still a quiet, reassuring presence Ruby found herself needing.

Nora had tried to stay energetic as always, but like Ren there were little changes. Her smile wasn't as bright any more, and on occasion Ruby found Nora staring into space, a plethora of emotions on her face. Originally it was just sadness, but then she looked angry, and now she looked a bit...empty. Like losing Pyrrha stole some of her light. Maybe it really did.

Jaune took it the hardest. He was quieter, more quick to anger. Harder. There was a sadder, more angry undertone to everything that he did, the way he moved and spoke and fought. Nora said they couldn't get him out of bed for three weeks at first, that he passed out from hunger and dehydration and they had to force feed him. She said he had only gotten out of bed when they gave him his scroll back. He had sent them out of the room and when they returned he had declared that they were going to avenge Pyrrha. That didn't make his loss any more bearable. He still cried himself to sleep, and they all acted like they didn't hear him crying her name out in the quiet of night.

Ruby was affected as well. She had lost her team, Weiss taken from her, Blake ran, and Yang couldn't get herself out of bed. Penny was ripped to pieces right in front of her and Pyrrha shot in the chest. It didn't make sense. Out of everyone, all the people who deserved that, Pyrrha and Penny simply did not. Penny was the most innocent person—and yes, she was a living breathing person—Ruby had ever met, someone who simply wanted there to be less misery in the world. Pyrrha as well, simply wanted less misery in the world, but on top of that? Her one, true wish? She just wanted to be _seen_. Seen for who she truly was, not a champion or the famous 'invincible girl'. And she died to protect the few who saw her that way.

She didn't have to do that.

Ruby almost made it.

They don't give out medals for almost.

* * *

"That was crazy," Jaune muttered across the campfire where they sat. Ruby nodded. A spark went out. "I thought it was awesome!" Nora yelled enthusiastically, throwing her fist in the air, "There were so many grimm! I bet I took out at _least_ a hundred!" She laughed, flipping her slightly longer hair over her shoulder. Ren sighed beside her, "Forty eight, actually," A roar sounded from the forest. "And counting." He muttered in conclusion. Nora laughed, "Bring it on!"

Jaune chuckled under his breath and stood. Ruby couldn't tell if the light in his eyes was simply from the campfire or if he was genuinely happy. She'd guess it was the campfires doing. Another spark went out. "Okay, well, no matter how awesome it was it was also tiring. I'm gonna hit the hay, see you guys in the morning," He said, and left them with nothing but the flickering light of the fire. Ruby stared into the flames, willing them to take form, or to turn back time. To do something. To _fix_ something. But alas, the flames continued to do what they could. Burn. Burn the wood to ash and sparks and Ruby felt something like bile—or maybe it was just sadness—block her throat.

Pyrrha was burned to ash.

Everything seemed to remind her of Pyrrha these days. She couldn't look at Crescent Rose anymore without recalling whatever daily conversation her and the red head had about upgrades on it and Milo. Sparring reminded her of all the times Pyrrha had accepted her request for a sparring match— _I want to be as awesome as you_ —she had said. Pyrrha had laughed that gorgeous laugh she was blessed with, her hand coming to cover her mouth as if to suppress the happy noises she was producing.

Everything reminded her of Pyrrha

She couldn't imagine how Jaune felt.

"I'm with Jaune, guys," Ruby sighed, "It's been a long day."

Ren nodded in agreement and Nora huffed. "I'm gonna take first watch then. I'm not tired at all," She sighed. Ren fixed her with a hard stare, his hands finding his hips and his lips tightening into a straight line. Nora waved away his incredulity with a flick of her wrist and chuckled, "Don't, Ren. I'll take first watch," Ruby noted how exhausted her eyes looked.

Ren sighed and looked at Ruby almost apologetically. "I'll take second watch then," _I'm going to be the only one to be able to get her to go to sleep_ , is what Ruby heard. Ruby nods and heads to her tent, she's too tired to think of a response or rebuttal to the suggestion and frankly doesn't see any reason Ren shouldn't take second watch. Nora truly won't go to sleep if he doesn't force her. Ruby's not entirely sure what happened to them—Ren and Nora—but Pyrrha's death triggered something in her and Nora simply couldn't sleep anymore.

She sighs for the umpteenth time that night—since when did she sigh so much? How many years older has she grown in these three months? She certainly doesn't feel fifteen anymore. She groans instead of sighs this time, but admittedly only because she felt another sigh come on, and crawls into her sleeping bag.

She turns so she's facing the stars and can see Ren crawl into his sleeping bag out of the corner of her eye, and notices how he doesn't lay down, but instead covers his legs with the blanket and stays sitting up, watching Nora, no doubt. Ruby's eyes find the stars again and for a moment she wonders if there are two more stars up there, watching them live and breathe and continue. That sounds fitting, she didn't spend enough time with Penny to know the little things about her, but at least for Pyrrha she was certain. Pyrrha loved the stars. Penny, she was sure, loved them as well. That was something Ruby loved about Penny, her ability to truly love the small things that Ruby, until that point, had taken for granted.

She closed her eyes for a final time, the last thing she saw being stars and the last thing she heard being Jaune's quiet whimpering of Pyrrha's name.

* * *

 _"Ruby?"_

 _Ruby lifts her head and is met with emerald, "Oh, hey Pyrrha!" She chirps, a goofy smile playing on her lips, "What's up?"_

 _Pyrrha smiles politely—a practiced trait, Ruby's sure—and holds her hand up in a gesture similar to that of one surrendering, "I'm sorry! I need a partner for that project in Professor Goodwitch's class and somebody already..." She pauses and an emotion Ruby can't confidently place passes her face, but its covered by her usual happy, polite expression just as quickly as it came. "...Somebody already asked Jaune. And he, of course, accepted. So I am, therefore, left without a partner for the time being..." She explained slowly, her gaze finding its way to the floor as she continued._

 _Ruby smiles and straightens, "Yeah sure-"_

" _That is, unless you already have a partner! Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about Weiss! It's okay I can ask someone else-"_

" _Pyrrha," Ruby grabs Pyrrha's hand as she turns to walk away, her smile only growing, "It's perfectly okay, Weiss ditched me too—I mean, not ditched Jaune would never ditch you—nobody would you're awesome um..."Ruby laughed under her breath and looked to the ground, "Yeah anyway, it's fine."_

 _Laughter broke Ruby's embarrassment and her gaze flew up to the source. Pyrrha's hand was covering her mouth, and the other gripped her stomach as peals of laughter left the girl breathless._

 _It was times like these when Ruby realized Pyrrha was truly beautiful. Sure, everyone was aware that Pyrrha was attractive—She's Pyrrha. But Ruby felt something warm in her chest whenever the girl laughed—as in genuinely_ laughed _. It's a sight few get to see, as Pyrrha isn't comfortable enough around most people to drop her polite celebrity persona. Another thought crossed Ruby's mind. Pyrrha was comfortable around her. For some reason, that felt like such a huge honor, like something precious and fragile she didn't have a right to hold._

" _S-Sorry, Ruby!" She laughed, her hand still covering her mouth. Ruby felt a smile grow on her face from the sight. It was a couple more moments of laughter from Pyrrha before she calmed, "Your just funny!" She smiled, leaning back on her heels and clasping her hands behind her back. "So, temporary partners?"_

 _Suddenly, Ruby was a lot more excited about this project._

" _Pyrrha, out of all the temporary partners that could temporarily partner, you are the best temporary partner."_

* * *

A jolt woke Ruby from her sleep. "Wuh? Whoozat?" She looked around groggily, her eyes landing on an amused Ren. He smiled and pointed a thumb at the rising sun and dying fire, "Morning."

"Why didn't you wake me for my shift?" Ruby questioned immediately. She felt terrible—which isn't exactly an ideal mood to wake up to. Ren already had enough trouble sleeping as it was. Then again, they all did, didn't they? "You looked like you were having a good dream, I didn't have it in me to wake you." He said simply, shrugging and moving to wake Nora. "Still..." Ruby trailed off, rubbing her eyes tiredly. The sky was still mostly pink, with a very light blue outline. "You could've woken Jaune up..." Ruby couldn't imagine Jaune would want to sleep anymore than he had to anyway. "We could've just switched it up."

"We both know Jaune wouldn't have woken you either. And as much as he hates...what happens..." Ren clears his throat before continuing to try and jostle Nora awake, "..As much as he hates what happens in his dreams he needs sleep possibly more than the rest of us do." He finishes quietly. Ruby nods and sits up from her sleeping bag, eyes glancing over at Crescent Rose. "Hey, Ren?"

"Hm?"

"You remember that project we had in Mrs. Goodwitch's class? The one about disassembling your partners weapon and putting it back together without help from the other person?"

"Yes," He pauses. "I believe you and Pyrrha teamed up for that one." He says softly, his movements halting as he turned from Nora to fully face Ruby. She nodded. "Yeah, she dis and reassembled Crescent Rose on her first try. No problem," She says softly, laying back down on her sleeping bag gently, "It took me twice as long as her to disassemble Milo, and twice as long as that to reassemble her..." Ruby trails off, head turning to the rising sun. "There wasn't a bolt out of place. Not a bullet that wasn't lethal."

Ren nods along with her story, his fingers playing with the dewy grass beneath him. Ruby is silent for a long while after that, but Ren feels that she isn't done and stays quiet. She lets out a shaky breath and looks back to the sky above her, "She shouldn't have been able to lose that fight."

Ren sighs softly, "One time," He begins, and Ruby turns on her side to look at him fully, tucking one hand underneath her head for support and the other splaying out on the grass. "A little while before the vytal tournament," he continues, though he finds it hard to talk about his late teammate. They need this, he thinks. It won't help, not now, but it'll make it more bearable. "Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and I, you see, we agreed to have a cook off. I couldn't tell you why if you asked me—I honestly have no idea why we did that, I think Nora just wanted an excuse for more pancakes. But anyway,"

"Throughout the whole thing—which took up half of the day—Nora and Jaune wouldn't stop talking about how it was a 'fight to the death'. I won. Pyrrha, she laughed the whole time." Ren smiled nostalgically at the memory, crossing his legs underneath himself and interlocking his fingers in his lap. "My point is, she lost that fight, Ruby." He explained. Ruby tilted her head to the side in confusion and he smiled gently, backtracking. "By all means, she should have won. She didn't make more pancakes than me, but hers tasted better—that was surprisingly hard to admit." He chuckles and even Ruby finds herself giggling quietly at the comment. _Who knew she could cook?_

"But," He pauses, "Nora kept stealing her ingredients because she kept running out of her own. Nora cheated, and Pyrrha lost a fight that should have been hers to win." He finishes quietly. Ruby remains silent, looking at Ren blankly, "You're saying Cinder cheated?" She whispers, and Ren has to strain his ears to hear. He nods, "That's the only way I can imagine her losing to someone like her." He explains. "It's the only way I'll _accept_ that she lost to someone like her."

Ruby nods silently, sitting up and stretching. The sun has risen more, the darkness of night no longer visible. "Thank you, Ren" She says. He hums and turns back to Nora, "Anytime."

Ruby walks over to Jaune's sleeping bag, ignoring the dampness of his pillow, and shakes him awake. "Hey, sleepyhead! Time to get moving!" Jaune groans something unintelligible and turns away from Ruby. "Jaune..." Ruby whines, sitting back on her knees, "...I _will_ get Nora," She says as a last resort. That does the trick, and Jaune almost leaps out of his sleeping bag. "Up! I'm up!" He yells. He stretches his arms in the air and yawns before addressing Ren and Ruby, "Good morning."

Ren hums and Ruby smiles. "Hey," Jaune starts, scratching behind his neck and looking around, "Nobody woke me up for my shift," He states, looking to Ruby. She shakes her head and points to Ren, who had managed to get Nora to sit up. "Mr. Actual Ninja thinks he doesn't need any sleep. He didn't wake me up for mine either."

"Rennn..." Nora groans, half lidded eyes flitting up in a tired glare at her partner, "You _promised_ me you would sleep." He sighs and helps her into a standing position. "Sorry, Nora," He responds, and then stays silent. He doesn't have an explanation that would please her in this state. Jaune sighs tiredly and turns away from the group, looking at the clouds in the opposite direction of the sun. "It might rain today..." He notes, tired eyes examining the horizon blearily.

Nora laughs, "Sounds like fun!" She cheers, and finally leans away from Ren's support, seemingly instantly regaining her usual energy. Ruby giggles, "It kinda does. It's been a while since it's rained any." Ren nods, "Though, it won't bode so well for Grimm hunting," He states, and Jaune perks up a bit. "That's okay, let's not hunt today! We're close to Mistral now right? I mean, it's capital?" He questions. Ren nods, "Another day or so away, yes," He confirms. Jaune smiles, "So...Let's make 'another day', today!"

"Can we make it?" Ruby queried, grabbing Crescent Rose's holster and tying it around her waist. "We should be able to..." Jaune muttered. "It's been three months. The boat took two months and the trek there should have only taken five days. It's been four. Think we can make it, Ren?" The huntsman in question only hummed once more, closing his eyes in thought. "We...might be able to. With no significant delays we should be able to make it within a few hours, actually."

"Sounds awesome! Let's go! Team RNJR, move out!" Nora cheered enthusiastically, swinging Magnhild over her shoulder and marching forward. Ren sighed, bending down to pick up Nora's forgotten sleeping bag.

"Well..." Jaune smiles, "Can't go too wrong, can it?"

If there's one thing Ruby's learned in the past three months, it's that it can definitely go wrong.

"Right."

* * *

 _A/N_

Okay so I actually wrote this like, a month or so after volume three ended-and then lost it-and then found it again-and then dropped it because volume four-and then decided fuck it all and now we're here. So anyway, this is my first time writing for RWBY and while I think I got the characters pretty in-character, feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome-just don't be a dick, really.

Anyway, as for how long this is going to be, right now its pretty indefinite-think of the fanfic _Resurgence_ when I say 'indefinite'. It'll probably be pretty long (also if you haven't read that get on that right now that story kicks _ass_ ). I can't, however, promise that it will be updated regularly as I'm currently going to an art school for visual arts and am constantly swamped with work (thumbnails and linoleum and sculpting and AP U.S history and AP English 3 can suck my ass tbh), but I'd really hope for _at least_ a chapter a month-or more depending on how 'in the mood' I am with writing and my schedule-though when that one month marker pops up and a chapter hasn't been produced, I'll try and post a PSA regarding when thereafter it should be, or how far I am with it. Maybe I'll just post snippets of it to get you through-that'd be cool, right?

I also think I'll have another chapter posted tonight-like I said this story has been sitting in the woodwork for almost a year now, the second chapter is already almost half way written, so if not tonight sometime within the next day or two definitely. And if not then I'll just post a part of it, like a ' _Next week on...'_ except for this! Yay! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and please, leave a review or two-as previously mentioned constructive criticism or a 'Hey! This is pretty cool!' is really good for my motivation/inspiration to kick in and I'll be kicking these chapters out in no time. So, see you next time, I guess!


	2. The Storm Before The Calm

"In all honesty…this could've gone better."

The storm raging around them thundered in agreement. "We need to find shelter!" Ruby yells, almost tripping over the wet foliage beneath her. Nora laughs beside her, not at all fazed from their ongoing run. "But this is fun!" Lightning strikes. "Maybe for you," Ren pants ahead of her. Jaune nods his head frantically, "Not all of us are strong enough to live through a lightning strike, Nora!" He yells over the pounding rain. Nora only cackles in response.

A droplet of rain falls in Ruby's eye, and for a second she's blind. "We really need to get out of this!" Jaune yells frantically, head looking everywhere for any signs of shelter. Thunder clapped. "Jaune, that's the first good idea you've had in a while!" Ruby smiles and leaps over a fallen tree. Jaune groans, "That's rude."

Nora laughs in unison with the thunder. Ren's smile slips in fear for a moment, but he quickly recomposes himself once he's confident Nora won't accidentally electrocute them. "We're not too far outside of Mistral's capital! There has to be someone or something to take cover under for a while!" Jaune yells desperately. Ren says nothing, but knows the possibility of that is slim. Mistral is a kingdom of swamps and lowlifes excluding a few of its more major coastal cities. It is, therefore, very unlikely anyone pleasant lives outside of those few.

He idly wonders how someone as wonderful as Pyrrha can come from such a place.

At least it explains her intolerance for cold weather, he thinks. Even the rain water feels hot.

"Nora, can't you do anything?" Ruby almost trips over a fallen branch, but saves herself. "I can channel electricity to my muscles, not make storms go away!" Nora smiles and trips over the same branch. Ren only sighs as she ducks into a roll mid-fall and whoops when she sticks the landing. "Focus, Nora!" He yells.

Another raindrop falls into Ruby's eyes, and she's blind for another second. That's all it takes. She trips over a rock jutting out of the ground and hits the floor hard enough to lose her breath. She tries to roll over and sit up, only for her vision to go blurry as she continued to roll down the hill they were near. "Wait—ow—Wait—ow—Wait—ow—I hate this!" She throws her arms forward to grab a hold of something to stop her fall. She manages to flip herself mid-roll by grabbing onto a tree branch, and sticks her legs out in front of her to attempt and stop herself. Her boots dig into the mud until she's sure she'll be stuck there, when she notices it. "Guys!"

Jaune is there first, having immediately took off at the sound of Ruby's squeal. He stares in wonderment at the cabin in front of them, "I hope that wasn't the last of our luck..." He smiles, running his fingers through his hair and throwing off some of the water. Ren, who had followed immediately behind Jaune, shakes his head. "It's too early to decide whether this is lucky or not," Nora groans behind him once her laughter at Ruby's misfortune dies down, "Stop being such a Debby downer!"

Ren shakes his head and holds his hand forwards, "Ladies first." He says, and Nora laughs as she runs to the dry cabin. He sighs softly and runs after her. Jaune chuckles and looks to Ruby, who is struggling to get out of the mud, and lowers his hand. She smiles and gratefully takes it. After a few trials and a few errors, she's out of the mud and the two of them are in the cabin and walking toward a more or less dry Nora and Ren who are holding their hands toward a lit fireplace.

"Took you long enough," Nora chirped and ran to throw the towel she found around Ruby's shoulders. She smiled gratefully at the energetic girl and ran the towel through her hair and over her skin. Jaune catches the towel Ren threw at him and does the same. "'Might not have taken as long if we had some help..." He glares and Ren gives a barely visible smile in reply. It didn't look too apologetic.

Ruby nestles herself near the fire, taking solace in that she would no longer be wet. "I don't really see why we need the fire. It's hotter than the sun in here," Nora looks around the dark cabin. "And that's pretty hot," She continues, walking over to the door and searching around the door frame. Jaune tilts his head in confusion and walks over to the much shorter girl. "What's up?" He asks, stepping in front of her. "Looking for a light switch. It's dark in here," She says, and steps around him. "Ren!" She calls over her shoulder, "Come with me! Time for an investigation!"

"Careful," Ruby chuckles at an exasperated Ren as he stands from beside her. He shakes his head and sighs again. Jaune and Ren share a tired glance as they pass each other and chuckle at something said in a language only they could hear. Sometimes Ruby wonders whether or not they truly were brothers separated at birth. Jaune claps Ren's shoulder as he walks toward his partner and sits beside Ruby. "Who would've thought we'd find this, huh?" He smiles at her. She closes her eyes and tucks her face into her knees. "Not me," She sighs tiredly. He chuckles.

"How much longer 'till we reach the capital, do you think?" He asks quietly, shifting to fold one leg underneath him. He holds his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on his other knee. Ruby looks at him through tired eyes. Not the eyes of the fifteen year old he met close to a year ago, but the eyes of a huntress, he notices. He's not sure he likes the change too much. "We can't be far out. There wouldn't be anything here if we weren't," Ruby leans back slightly and interlocks her fingers together near her ankles and rocks back and forth. Jaune hums in response.

The humidity is making the tension thicker, Jaune decides.

Certainly not because he hasn't been able to function for three months.

Jaune taps his fingers against his chin, impatient for something. He's not entirely sure what it is. Ruby unfolds herself beside him, sighing in relief at finally being fully dry and chucking the towel turned furnace behind her. The silence between them is deafening. They should talk, Jaune thinks. About what, he doesn't know and he's not too entirely sure he wants to. He's not sure he's ready. Maybe she isn't either, maybe that's why it's silent.

Or maybe he has simply been incapable of seeing or hearing anything pleasant for three months.

 _Nah_ , he thinks, because that would be dishonoring. Because if one of the reasons Pyrrha died was to protect him, than she certainly didn't intend for him to see life in a more monochrome light. Thinking about Pyrrha makes his world come back into color and he wants to throw up. He pushes and pleads with the thoughts to go away, he's not in the mood, and his world is black and white again.

He's dishonoring her. He doesn't mean to. He's simply not strong enough to carry on her legacy—his shoulders can't handle that weight. He thinks for a moment that she never wanted that weight either and he closes his eyes to avoid seeing the colors return and pushes them back. Black and white. "Hey, Jaune?" Ruby calls next to him. Somewhere in the house something crashes alongside Ren crying 'Nora!' and Jaune sighs. "I swear, that girl is going to get herself hurt one of these days." Jaune mutters before facing Ruby. "Yeah?"

Ruby studies his face for another moment before turning back to the fire and burying her face back in her knees, "No, it's nothing. Forget it," She says and he almost sighs in relief. She's not ready for this conversation either, she's just as unwilling to accept how much things have changed as he is. The lights above them crackle and then flicker to life, and then Ren and Nora re-join them. "Man," Nora sighs, a skip in her step, "This place is weird."

Ren nods an affirmative and steps out from behind her. "It certainly isn't normal," Thunder claps from outside and the lights flicker for a moment. "...But it's dry," Ren offers with a shrug before moving over to investigate the kitchen. Ruby perks up from beside Jaune "Hey, guys! We don't know who's house this is so no stealing food! Got that Nora? I don't want to see a missing box of pancakes." Ruby threatened with a glare that had all the ferociousness of an angry puppy behind it. Nora's eyes widened, "They have pancakes…?" She whispered.

Nora turned to Ren with a huge smile on her face, "We're feasting tonight, Ren!" She yells and Ruby stands from her seat, "Nora, I said no-"

"Are you really going to stand between Nora and pancakes?" Jaune asks from beside her, and she sighs. "I don't even know if these people have pancakes," She muttered. Jaune turns to look at her with serious eyes and a smile playing on his lips, "You better hope they do," He says, before the seriousness leaves his eyes and he turns back to the fire, "We'll leave some sort of compensation when we leave, don't worry yourself too much, Ruby. It's unlike you."

Ruby shifts side to side as she stands next to him and whispers a string of words he can't properly hear, and then Nora comes racing back in the room. "They—These guys—They have pancakes!" She laughs and does a little victory dance, spinning around the room. She grabs Ruby's shoulders and picks her up, spinning her in the air. "Thank you for the idea, Ruby!" She cackles and Ruby shakes her head, though she's smiling. "No problem."

Nora grins and places Ruby carefully back on her feet.

It's an hour and a half later that the pancakes are made and eaten and Team RNJR huddles up near the fire, Mistral's days are hot and humid—but it's nights are damp and cold. The kind of cold that seeps into one's bones and makes muscles tremble in need of heat. Their sleeping bags aren't yet dry, so they've taken to borrowing some of the blankets and pillows scattered throughout the house. It's Jaune who breaks the silence, "Ya' know, you'd think we'd run into more grimm, huh?"

Ruby nods, "Yeah. It's kind of weird...You'd think especially this house in the middle of no where with seemingly no defenses wouldn't...i dunno...exist. With grimm. Weird."

"Lucky, if you ask me," Ren chimes in, sipping from the tea he had brought with him. "Mistral is a very large continent, and as such is infested with grimm. And with the varying climates that make up the entirety of Anima, it's infested with various kinds of grimm."

Nora leans forward excitedly, "Oh, Oh, What kind of grimm?" She laces her fingers together in front of her knees and rocks back and forth, like a child about to be told their favorite bed time story. Ren smiles lightly, and takes another sip of his tea, "Most kinds. Some grimm you can only find in Atlas. Or Vacuo. Or Vale. Grimm have adjusted to the cold, or coastal, or dry desert of the areas and as such can only be found there. But, in Mistral's case, we have a bit of all of them." Magenta eyes closed, trying to remember his basic grimm studies classes from when he went to combat school in Mistral. Not Sanctum, not with Pyrrha. He takes another sip of his tea. "There's a place on the east side of Mistral that's icy and mountainous, many cave dwelling grimm can be found there—and even the yeti. A grimm species thought to be exclusive to Atlas before they really explored those areas of Anima."

"And to the south is where most of their coastal cities are located, and their swamp areas. We're around there, somewhere in southern Anima definitely. It'd be easy to find any number of King Taijitu and their evolutions out here. And to the west is the more forested area, very much similar to Vale. You'll find your basic grimm there, Beowolves and the like. And to the north is a more...well. It's kind of the 'paradise' region of Anima. It's situated between the cold east and warm west of Anima, and therefore has a very continuously nice climate, you'll probably still find you're typical grimm over there. But, there are a lot of settlements up north—like I said, paradise—and as such it has pretty good defenses, even if the kingdom of Mistral is situated more so near the east."

Ren opened his eyes to three sets of wide ones, staring at him in awe. He smiled behind his cup, "So, yeah, we're pretty lucky we haven't run into many grimm when we aren't looking for them."

Nora groaned beside him, "Lucky? More like _boring_ , we haven't fought anything all day!" She pouted, crossing her arms and folding her legs underneath her, "I didn't even get to get close to _one_ lightning strike!"

"Scratch that, we're very lucky."

" _Ren!_ "

Ruby giggled quietly beside them, their happiness—however short lived—contagious. Jaune was smiling beside her, nostalgia in his eyes. Ruby wondered if it was really her he saw next to her in that moment. "You know, I think I agree with Nora, Ren. Today was pretty boring." Ruby said, tilting her head innocently to the ceiling.

"Boring in a 'running through lightning storms and desperately trying to escape death' type of way?" Jaune arched an eyebrow and leaned back against the brick of the fireplace, "I think we have _very_ different definitions of the word 'boring', Ruby," The playful smile on Jaune's face Ruby wouldn't trade for anything, so she kept going. "Yeah, your definition of the word 'boring' is actually _super boring_ and your definition of the word 'fun' is actually boring." Nora cackled next to her, clutching her stomach and leaning onto Ruby's shoulder. Jaune pouted, looking to Ren for backup, only to get a shrug.

"Okay, you know, I don't have to take this abuse. I'm the leader of this team and I-"

"Wait, who made you the leader?"

"I-What? It's...It's team JNRR? My initial is at the beginning so I'm the leader." Jaune nodded confidently along to his answer of Ruby's question. "Oh, team JNRR...I like it!" Nora sounded, bouncing from her place beside Ruby to beside Jaune. "Wait, Nora—traitor!" Ruby pointed accusingly at the red head who was giving her a two fingered solute. "Well, it only makes sense! There are more members of JNPR on this team than RWBY!" Nora said, Jaune nodding along beside her. "But-"

"But, we're helping Ruby with her objective. Wouldn't that make _her_ the leader?" Ren questioned, and Ruby—though slightly offended at being interrupted at first—smiled and nodded aggressively to his addition to the conversation. "Right! So _I'm_ the leader!"

"But RNJR isn't even a color!"

"Wha-Yeah it is! But JNRR definitely isn't!"

"Yeah well, JNRR sounds cooler!"

"Yeah, right! RNJR is way cooler!" Ruby pointed her finger in Jaune's face, " _And you know it._ "

Jaune jumped back from her accusatory finger and almost bumped into the wall behind him, "I _do not_ and _you know it._ " he challenged, sitting forward to where his forehead bumped against her finger without fear. "Yeah!" Nora chimed, "Pyrrha, tell em-"

And just like that the air of normalcy that had surrounded them dissipated so fast it was almost as if it hadn't ever been there at all. Ren's back straightened and eyes widened, breath hitching and heart stopping. Ruby's mouth snapped shut and she took an unstable step back, hands still outstretched but fingers limp. Nora's head was still turned toward the empty space between Ruby and Ren, eyes wide and disbelieving. "I-I'm-"

Jaune got up and left without another word. Nora's gaze finally dropped to her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry-it just...it just felt so _normal_ I didn't...I just _forgot_." Nora's voice was trembling almost as much as her hands. "I didn't mean...I just...she just _needs to be here_." Nora's voice cracked in the most heart breaking way, her hands coming up to her forehead and clenching, "I'm sorry-I know you don't wanna talk about it. _I_ don't wanna talk about it."

Ren was there almost faster than Ruby's semblance, arms locking around Nora's shoulders and easing her head into him. A sign of familiarity, of trust. A sign of _you can cry here, you're safe here_. Nora luckily, didn't cry. She took a few deep, shaky breaths and then unclenched her fists and lowered them. Ruby was there in an instant, lost for a second, unsure of what to do or where to be. Her arms rested on Nora's back, circling there reassuringly, "Nora?"

Nora's bright eyes seemed so dull in that moment, that Ruby could have sworn she was looking at an entirely different person. " _I'm sorry._ " she struggles with her words for a moment, mouth opening and closing without sound, "I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to forget about it. About...about her. I don't want to bring you guys down, but I just...I just miss her _so much_." Nora's voice cracked again and this time Ruby saw the tears fall before she could hide them in Ren's shoulder, clutching at the sleeve of his shirt and intertwining her fingers with his with her other hand.

Ruby stands there, one hand on Nora's back while the other clenches into a fist so hard she could have sworn she drew blood.

"Ruby," Ren's voice is calm, the eye of the storm, "Go check on Jaune. Make sure he doesn't do anything..." a pause, eyes flicking behind her and then back to the shivering Nora, "...reckless." He decides. "Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless." He repeats, more confident this time, as if saying it twice will assure that it happens. Ruby nods, and pats Nora's back once more before moving towards where Jaune headed.

They had found the lights to the house, but it was as if the darkness from outside was forcing its way in, eating away at the light. Ruby climbed the stairs, looking for evidence of her blonde friend. "Jaune?" she called down the hallway, looking under doors for lit lights or the sound of sobbing. Nothing. "Jaune?" she calls again, worry creeping into her voice. Thunder claps outside. Ruby flinches. "Jaune, come on." she calls and calls and there is no answer, and no sign of Jaune in any of the rooms. Ruby feels her heart drop. She rushes down the stairs in a flurry of rose petals and almost knocks the door off of its hinges in her pursuit.

It's still pouring rain, and Ruby almost slips as soon as her foot makes contact with the wet ground. She cups her hands around her mouth and hollers into the night " _Jaune!_ " She yells. And yells, and yells, and yells. No response. After half an hour spent getting drenched, she rushes back inside, heart pounding and lungs burning. He wouldn't have left. Not in the middle of a huge storm, in the middle of a dark night, when in a mood that would summon grimm. He wasn't _that_ stupid. She rushes past Ren and Nora—who has seemingly gained more control of her emotions than last she saw her—and makes a lightning quick run through the house. It's on the second floor when she sees it, the attic door, left barely open.

Ruby lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding and jumps to the little rope that pulls down the attic door. The ladder falls with a loud creak and even louder bang when it hits the floor. She rushes up the stairs of the ladder, nearly tripping over herself more than once. She peaks her head over the top and into the darkness of the attic. She looks around, spotting a figure curled up against the wall to her right. She sighs so deeply and full of relief she's surprised she doesn't physically feel herself relax as she climbs the rest of the ladder to sit near Jaune.

"Hey."

"..."

Ruby puts a hand on his shoulder, "You know...you know Nora didn't-"

"Of course I know Nora didn't mean it, Ruby. She," He inhaled deeply and exhaled shakily, "She misses her as much as I do. I just," Jaune lifted his head and looked at Ruby, and she's glad it's too dark to see his expression. She sure it would have been too hurt and crushed for her to handle.

"I just need to do this on my own."

Ruby didn't feel she had the words to help anyway. She only curled her arm around his neck and muttered an apology before standing up and walking toward the attic door. She turned her head briefly, "Hey, Jaune?"

He looked up.

"Just don't think running off is going to change anything."

Jaune only sighs miserably, before looking at Ruby with eyes so cold she physically feels chilled.

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

 _A/N_

Well, told you I'd more than likely have chapter two out within the same day. Yay me! That being said, next chapter might take a while, considering I haven't actually started on it. I should also mention that some of this was written very near when volume 3 first ended, and some of this written literally today, when I decided I'd pick this story back up, and have since decided that I'd try to incorporate elements that are currently canon in Volume 4-such as Ren being from Mistral, originally.

Ah, another note, a review (the one lmao) mentioned that up earlier in the dialogue, where it originally said " _But Team RNJR isn't even a color!"/"Neither is JNRR"_ I didn't seem to make it clear that yes-RNJR is base off of a color, as the reviewer states its Ranger Green. I went back and changed the dialogue to make it a bit more obvious to some of you-seeing as I wrote that conversation as if I was a part of it, and that's something I would say-something completely incorrect and lets be honest, if any other character is going to do that, it'd be Jauney Boy. Anywho, I just didn't really feel like having people think I was incompetent or something, so the dialogue should be very slightly changed now and hopefully that will make distinguishing things a bit better-and thank you to the reviewer who commented-it let me know my conversation wasn't received as well as I had hoped. But, Oh well.

Anyway, leave a comment or whatever it is you want to do and see you next chapter? Hopefully? Buh-Bye


End file.
